Every artist dips his brush in his own soul,
and paints his own nature into his pictures.
~Henry Ward Beecher

﻿﻿Do you think of yourself as a creative person? An artist, even? Well, you should. Your life is your art. How you interact with people, how you solve problems, how you exude happiness and sadness - all of these things are products of your creativity. Whether we choose to acknowledge the artistry in these things or not, our unique approach to life is indeed art in its most fundamental form.

Perhaps you're like me and you've spent most your life telling yourself that you are not a creative person. This limiting thought can hinder your ability to find your purpose in this life. For me, it was a defense mechanism. I didn't feel like I had anything particularly brilliant to add to the world, so I told myself in a most repetitive, self-defeating fashion that I was not creative. How could I call myself creative and put myself in the same category with distinguished artists who lived and died by their craft?

But didn't we all start off as curious children whose realities were vividly commingled with imagination? We didn't understand all of the complications of life, so we created our own perspectives that were just as natural and uninhibited as our bodily functions.

Many of us lose that healthy appetite to create our own environment as we get older. Sometimes it is smothered by our desire to fit in, or maybe it's the restrictions of formal education. Sometimes the harsh realities of life just hit us so hard that we stop creating something for the soul out of every experience. And that is what art is about - creating something meaningful and authentic out of every experience.

As you create your life - your home, work, relationships, attitude, family, projects, problems, goals, dreams - remember that you are an artist. Your greatest work is your life and how you use the unique gifts that God has given you. Mastering these gifts is as simple as putting more you, more soul, more spirit into everything you do and tending to the details of life as a painter would tend to the details of his masterpiece.

Are you acknowledging the presence of art in your life and the importance of your creativity?